by Trey Deibel
“Actually… I stand here with a proposal for you two gentlemen.”
“You had my curiosity, but now you have my courtesy. Go on.”
“Perfect! Let me proceed straight to my proposal and follow with both of your responses. Is that reasonable with you gentlemen?
“It's what you are here for, is it not?”
“I suppose it is. Proceeding on… the Order of Aegis has recently renovated one of our projects… Project Ace, to be particular. I stand here with the proposition that you, gentlemen, enlist in the project.”
“What is Project Ace?” Alabon questioned.
“Unfortunately, I am unable to converse about the particulars. Nonetheless, I am able to converse this: Project Ace will grant you knowledge on the topic of your abilities and prepare you, gentlemen, for the Wersillian War. We offer food, shelter, and--”
Geariic cut him off, “What in Sam-Hell are you babbling about? Abilities?”
“Interesting. You lack knowledge of what you are.”
“What we are?”
“You, gentlemen, are aces… born with extraordinary gifts and abilities, such as your metallic skin.”
“Are you saying we aren’t alone?” Alabon wondered.
“Precisely.”
Geariic said, “I’ll tell you what, Kalvin. I’ll do anything to get out of this tent of misery. But you have to convince my brother, Alabon. He has a taste for fun and games.”
Kalvin smiled with wolfish charm. “Geariic, I accept. So… Alabon, it appears you have an appetite for excitement. Am I correct?”
“Auh-huh.”
“Perfect. Would you care to learn the funniest game of all - war games? Moreover, I will even fashion special… toys for you gentlemen.”
“Do I get to stay with my brother?”
“Absolutely. When all is complete, you both will be mobile tanks. How does that sound, Alabon?”
“Sounds cool. I’ll do it!”
“Perfect. If you gentlemen would follow me?”
“Right now?” Geariic asked.
“Absolutely.”
Kalvin led them out of their tent to a personal starship. Soon, they were off.
Chapter 9: The Hunt Begins
September 31, 2111
James Stone
Inside my unit’s designated dropship, I stared out the window, watching the space battle. I could see the Wersillian Legion’s massive invasion force pummeling our starships. Our fleet was outnumbered, and fighters all around us exploded in a canvas of colors. The Tempest of Titans was one of the largest in the ARW’s entire fleet. It stood its ground against the Wersillian fleet without much trouble. Other cruisers weren’t so lucky.
Our unit was assigned the task of hunting down and eliminating a warlord. Supposedly, these individuals are the most feared beings in the galaxy. I for one didn’t feel that fear; instead, excitement flowed through my blood.
“The 9707 Recons have spotted what they believe to be the warlord’s ship headed into the Zanzaback Forest, near the Favur Village,” Commander Sizar announced over our dropship’s intercom. “You are clear to proceed with your mission. Give them hell.”
“Copy, sir. On our way. Releasing dropship,” the pilot reported back as she detached us from the Tempest of Titans.
“Does everyone have their cyberwatches encrypted channel linked to mine?” Captain Landis made sure to ask before we got started. Everyone gave her a nod.
As our dropship cruised away, Sizar’s ship made every effort to cover our path to the planet Juster - a planet covered with around eighty percent forests and rivers.
I left the cockpit and joined a conversation. “It brings delight to my eyes to see other aces,” I spoke to Geariic and Alabon, the Bruising Brothers.
Geariic directed his brother’s attention at me before speaking, “I’ll be damned. You’re James Stone.” Both were skyscrapers over me, standing just a tad taller than Valiic. And Valiic, in particular, was already above his species average height.
“In the flesh,” I smiled.
Alabon added, “Kalvin told us so much about you.”
“Kalvin?” I asked. “You two know him?”
“We were in Project Ace after you. Us and a few others.”
“My heart feels a sharp prick of pain for you. Nobody should go through that.”
Geariic and Alabon burst into laughter, as if I were the punch line of a joke. Geariic spoke. “He made us into what we are today - killing machines!”
Alabon added, “War is such a fun game.”
Their voices carried an unnerving craziness to it. Both the twin brothers were the same height and had the same shiny metallic skin underneath their extensive armor set. Neither carried the traditional shield and arm-covering plasma cannon maelkii usually carry into battle; instead, Geariic had a gold, bulky warhammer strapped to his back. Black stripes outlined the hammer, and an orange glow emanated from its head. Alabon carried two war-glaives crossed over his back. Each war-glaive could be wielded by a center handle. Protruding from the center handle were two identical blades to balance the weapon.
“So, war gets you up in the morning? Is it what makes you all fuzzy inside?” I asked, unsure of what to expect from these two. Their body language was all over the place.
Geariic chortled, “Hell yeah! We walk out to the battlefield and practically play whack-a-mole with our enemies.”
Alabon added, “And we never seem to get hurt!”
“What about your fellow soldiers dying on the field? The agony of watching someone you’ve connected with die in your arms?” Memories of Bremco’s death raced back into my mind as I spoke from experience.
Alabon responded, “The only family I need is my twin brother, Geariic.”
Geariic laughed. “If people die, they die. Life goes on.”
Alabon joined in laughing. Again, I had that feeling. My gut twisted like a screw as their arrhythmic, deep laugh locked itself in my memory.
I tried to continue my chat with them, “Twins. Both with a God-given suits of armor a dragon would be jealous of. No wonder you both joined the military. Most weapons won’t even dent that metal-plated skin,” I marveled at their durability. “Curiosity has me: What’s the story behind your weapons? Neither are tradition among maelkii society.”
Geariic boasted, “Both our weapons were manufactured by the Order of Aegis. My warhammer explodes with every impact.”
“My war-glaives run currents of electricity along the blades. Hell, we aren’t called the Bruising Bothers for nothing.” Alabon finished, and both laughed again.
“We have now entered Juster’s atmosphere,” the pilot reported over the intercom. That fact became clear when the ship started to rumble a bit.
“Oh, hell yeah! I love blood and violence! I’ve got a desire for destruction!” Geariic hoorayed. His orange glowing eyes had something I never saw before in a maelkii: Bloodlust. Looking at Alabon’s eyes, I saw a mirror of Geariic’s eyes. It further unnerved me.
“I’ve got half a mind to kill enemy bastards, and the other half agrees,” Alabon added.
“I’ll see you both again in combat.” I decided to leave them alone. Instead, I wanted to join Ben and Shadow-Walker, who stood almost as tall as Ben. “Whoa, Ben! You found somebody standing at your level,” I jested with Ben.
“Ha ha. I’m short, I know.” Benjamin rolled his eyes.
Shadow-Walker laughed. “You’re almost tall enough to be taken seriously.”
“James, your friend here is a real jokester.” Ben smiled.
“That’s how he gets off,” I teased Shadow-Walker.
“Just ask your girlfriend, James,” Shadow-Walker said with a smirk.
“Don’t have one. But for giggles, let’s say I did… she’d probably laugh at the thought of the… package you’d bring.”
“Ooh! Low blow, James. Low blow.” Shadow-Walker chuckled.
“Bro, you guys are something else. I love the closed community y’all got going on.” B
en laughed with us.
“It’s a daily routine. Aren’t you just downright tickled to be along for the ride?” I asked Ben.
“Man, I’m nervous as hell… and I kind of feel cheated. I was hoping to avoid missions before the commander program.”
“Look at it from this angle, Ben. You always say we have fun. Now you can rally in and experience the grind for yourself.”
“As long as I make it through all the… fun.” Benjamin didn’t seem as enthusiastic anymore.
Shadow-Walker added, “If it makes you feel any better, Ben, I’ll keep an eye on the tail between your legs.” All three of us laughed for a short couple seconds before war interrupted.
“Incoming!” the pilot shouted over the intercom. “Deploying the rapid cycle turrets.” Our conversation was cut short. On each side of the dropship, two doors slid open and the dor’o rapid cycle turrets extended from the sides of the ship.
“Hold that thought,” I told the group. I announced over my cyberwatch’s intercom, “The right has my name on it.”
Reaching out for the turret, I grabbed the handle and pulled back the chamber. Hearing the satisfying click, I knew it was ready to fire. Three hundred meters out, I spotted enemy airships - Pursuers. With no mercy, I pulled the trigger to unleash devastating maroon-colored stasis beams. Each beam released a shock against one of the enemy Pursuers, damaging the electrical systems inside. As I shot at it, four or five enemies shot back at me from a platform on the top of the Pursuer. To make the shivf smell worse, the Pursuer’s front plasma cannons unloaded at our dropship.
In the distance, I witnessed the Pursuer falling out of the sky and knew I'd taken it down. Seconds later, my gun overheated. I had to wait painstakingly as it cooled down. Looking behind me, I saw Geariic on the other gun, with his brother calling out enemy locations.
Without warning, our entire dropship whiplashed as a massive explosion took out both the back engines and left a hole in the side of our ship. I was thrown off the gun toward the gaping hole in the ship. Through the chaos, I managed to grab a hold of a handle attached to a seat near the hole. I hung on, thrashing around, half-inside the ship. In those milliseconds, I spotted Shadow-Walker flailing around uncontrollably toward the hole in the ship. I couldn’t fail him. I threw my arm out and caught him just in time.
“Oh shi--!” he yelled over the wind gusts. “Bring me in! Bring me in!”
I pulled him toward me. He wrapped himself around my torso, and I pulled us both inside. After helping him strap himself to a seat, I forced myself into one of my own. Glancing around, I saw everyone else strapped down as our dropship dove toward the ground. The pilot had lost control!
“Dropship H-109 to Command, we're descending uncontrollably. Location… oh no… prepare for a crash landing!” the pilot yelled over her shoulder. She had no time to report our location.
Moments later, the ship smashed against the forest floor and scraped across at high speeds. Seconds after that, the front of the ship slammed against something head on, causing a sudden, jolting stop. The seat’s lock-in straps kept me from flying forward.
A throbbing pain tingled up my arm. After a few moments to orient myself, I unlatched the lock-in straps. I was the first up. Stumbling for my first few steps, I made it to the pilot’s cockpit. She was crushed in her seat from the impact against a mountainside. Feeling for a pulse, I detected nothing. She was dead.
I left the cockpit. Captain Landis was helping Alabon with his seat. “The pilot’s gone,” I told her.
“Everyone else on this ship is still alive. We need to set up a perimeter until rescue arrives. The bonies that shot us down will send troops here any minute. Help the rest of our unit out of their seats and meet me outside the ship.” She hurried over to the end of the dropship and opened the back door.
As commanded, I helped a few members of our unit out, and we joined Landis outside. The crash had rendered our ship unusable. Its front was crushed against the side of a mountain. A hundred meter stretch of trees, left by our ship, was ripped apart in front of us. Our crash site was perched on a hill with two inclines leading up to it. One was in front of us. The other was off to the left against the mountain. Trees surrounded our crash site in every direction. The one exception was a field far past the left incline. On the hill of our crash site, some boulders rested in the ground, perfect for cover. I smiled, knowing our crash site was set in a strong defensive position.
After taking in our positioning, Captain Landis announced, “Listen up. I’m only going to go over the defensive strategy once. We have a few minutes before the enemy is upon us.” Landis stopped and coughed drops of blood in her hand.
Uslar sprinted over to her. “Captain, are you okay?”
She held up her hand to stop him. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Worry about the fight.”
“But ma’am--”
“That’s an order!” With that, Uslar fell back in line. She continued. “We got lucky. This hill has only two ways to access this crash - the two inclines.” She pointed to the areas described. “We need to buy as much time as we can until reinforcements arrive.”
“If they arrive,” Shadow-Walker cut her off. “In case you didn’t notice, they have our cyberwatches’ long range communications jammed.”
“I noticed,” Landis barked. “I'll activate the ship's beacon. Hopefully, the signal will be strong enough to overcome the jam. In the meantime, we have a job to do. Shadow-Walker, set yourself up on the ledge on the mountain. Benjamin, climb in the tree over by the left incline and use your suppressor. You both provide sniper support over the crash site. Valiic, go to the emergency locker in the dropship and retrieve one of the deployable covers. Then place it under Benjamin’s tree and provide defense for the left incline. Uslar, you're the only medic on the mission. I'll set up another deployable cover near the dropship. You and I will hold back there, and if anyone is injured, I'll cover you as you provide help. Narrisa, use the last deployable cover to provide defense over the front incline. James, set up the deployable C-17 scout sentry turret in-between the two inclines. Also, hide the overshield in the rock area on the right. Then see if you can rip off one of those rapid cycle turrets from the dropship and provide defense on the left incline. Bruising Brothers, take the left incline down into the forest and cause as much chaos in the forest as you can. Give every enemy you see a reason to run. Now, everyone take your positions.”
Geariic grinned. “Ma’am, you just said our favorite word: Chaos.” He and his brother, Alabon, trembled with anticipation.
Without wasting time, everyone hauled off to their designated areas. I headed into the dropship with Narrisa, Valiic, and Captain Landis. Narrisa opened up the locker, revealing the standard emergency materials. Under ARW protocol, each emergency locker had a defense turret, supply bag, medical bag, an overshield, and a few deployable covers, along with other shivf.
Once my turn arrived, I picked up the sentry turret in one hand and the overshield in the other. As ordered, I placed the sentry turret in-between the rocks, giving it a full view of the area in-between the two inclines. Flipping the 'on' switch, the downed head of the turret rose and a laser flashed on. It rotated its head back and forth as it awaited enemy forces. Then I took the overshield to the rocks on the right of our crash site and hid it beside one of the rocks. Again I flipped on its switch, which erupted a stasis field up into the sky. Above us, the shield protected our crash site from any enemy aircraft. Finally, I went back into the dropship and ripped off the only working rapid cycle turret. I carried the heavy weapon over to the left incline. Valiic waited at my side. The Bruising Brothers had already secured the bottom of the incline.
In the far distance, enemy airships - this time they were Haulers - buzzed into our area. Platoons of dytircs and lycargans jumped down from the rear. One hell of a battle was on the way.
“Man, there’s got to be at least sixty, probably more,” Benjamin called out over the intercom on our cyberwatches.
“More target practice for us,” Shadow-Walker added with confidence.
“Stay focused. Don’t get cocky, Shadow,” Captain Landis commanded.
Trees and bushes rustled in the distance as the enemies advanced on our crash site. My heart rate elevated. I grew excited with a hint of anxiety as we awaited the inevitable firefight.
“Time for some chaos,” I overheard Geariic say to his brother before both charged into the forest.
“Incoming!” Benjamin called out as a horde of enemies appeared from the bushes. He started to unload bullets from his suppressed sniper rifle.
Bullets, lasers, plasma blasts, and stasis beams smoked up the area around us. Leaves, bushes, and tree trucks were shredded by our weapons. War broke out, and chaos ensued. Using the rapid cycle turret, I unloaded beam after beam into the forest. Dytircs and lycargans used what cover they could as they attempted to push up the incline. I could only assume the enemies were attempting the same objective at the front incline, where Narrisa, Landis and Uslar were. It didn’t take long before the rapid cycle turret ran out of projectiles.
“Damn, I expected more from you,” I cursed at the empty weapon.
“Valiic, we need backup! We have a dytirc major over here! Come and help us for a bit,” Captain Landis called for him. With a large force such as this, I wasn’t surprised to hear there was an enemy major leading this attack.
“On my way.” Valiic rushed over to their side.
Dropping the turret, I headed down the incline to protect the crash site. At the bottom of the incline, I took cover behind a stance of trees. Activating the stasis shield on my arm, I pulled off my pistol and dashed farther into the forest. I fired from behind another stance of trees at a crowd of lycargans taking cover next to the mountain. Each bullet hit their natural armor, which covered their vital organs. Annoyed, I re-aimed my gun, trying to hit a spot not covered by armor. On average, lycargans are weaker and shorter than humans, but it takes a magazine full of bullets to pierce through their natural armor. Even my high impact pistol had trouble penetrating their pine-colored exterior.